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1. A Short History of Naganuma Town

  The birth of Naganuma Town greatly owes to the pioneer/first mayor Tetsunosuke Yoshikawa (吉川 鉄之助: 1859-1931).  Yoshikawa was born in Kawara-koji, Mizusawa, Oshu City, Iwate in 1859, in the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate regime (1603-1867).  When he was in his 13th year in 1871, the year of the abolition of clans and the inauguration of the prefectural system subsequently enacted after the 1868 Meiji Restoration, his father and he went to Sapporo with 36 families of the former Rusu clan to exploit Hokkaido.  Hokkaido, formerly called "Ezochi" (蝦夷地; literally meanng "the land for the barbarians [Ezo or the Ainu people]"), was a New World for Japanese people under the Colonization Office established after the Boshin War in 1869.*
  Soon after "Sapporo No-gakko" (Sapporo Agricultural School; now Hokkaido University) was established in 1872, Yoshikawa entered it and took lessons of western-styled agriculture (particularly land-surveying and geology) from the American Puritan scholar/colonel Dr. William Smith Clark (1826-1886).  He learned much and then worked there until 1885 when he relieved of his post at his own request.  When Dr. Clark founded the school, his aphorism for students was "Be gentleman!"  Later his maxim "Boys, be ambitious" made his fame and honor immortal among Japanese people.  Throughout his lifetime Yoshikawa was very proud of being taught by Dr. Clark, saying, "The most influential and proud thing in my life is that I have served Dr. Clark."
  When the new office of Hokkaido-cho (the Hokkaido Government) was established in 1885, the time was ripe for colonization work again, Yoshikawa heard that the Maoi Area southeast of Sapporo is a fertile land.  In 1886 Yoshikawa first went to the area called "Tantonee" (Ainu "[the] long bog") or Naganuma (長沼: the literal translation of the original Ainu word) for investigation and concluded that the land is suitable for farming.  In May 1887 he and his comrades settled in N18 W1 (西1線北18番地) in the side of the Yubari River.  It was said that Yoshikawa brought the Bible with him (although he does not seem to have been actually baptized).  Naganuma was a wasteland with thick forests, rivers and bogs, however, they reclaimed the marshy land as wide as 10 hectares in the first two years.  They also constructed the Yubari Road (between Naganuma and Iwamizawa via Kuriyama), and then built a school for children.  With late-coming settlers, they constructed many roads and bridges: Naganuma Village was born with authorization of the Hokkaido Government in 1895.  Yoshikawa became the first mayor.  Following the success of pomiculture and livestock farming the village was rapidly developed during the Taisho Era (1912-1925).  Naganuma Village was promoted Naganuma Towin in 1952.  The key industry is agriculture, especially rice crop, dry field farming and orcharding.  There are also three major factories of DHC, Hokuren (the Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations) and "Dorizol Kogyo."  Naganuma Town has an area of 168.36 square kilometers.  The population is 12,667 (March 31, 2005).

  A sister-city affiliation was done between Naganuma Town and Mizusawa City (now Mizusawa Ward, Oshu City), Iwate on May 9, 1973.  Since then many people have visited each city.  On September 10, 2006, for the first time, two festival cars (of Yoko-machi and O-machi) of Mizusawa Hitaka Fire Prevention Festival were drawn about the center of Naganuma Town.  About 7,000 spectators came from all over Hokkaido as the municipal authorities reported later.
  
  *What happened to the Ainu people?  The area where we now call "Hokkaido" was originally their land.  The Japanese colonization was an aggression or an invasion against them.  Since the prehistoric age, the Ainu people ("Ainu" meaning [good] human) have lived in Hokkaido, the Tohoku District of the Japanese Main Island, the Kurile Islands, Sakhalin and even the Kamchatka Peninsula.  As the time has gone by, the number of them has decreased remarkably.  There are about 15,000 Ainu people living in Hokkaido today according to some statistic, although the exact figure is unknown as many of them hide their ethnic identity or in most cases are not aware of their roots because their parents do not tell it to their children in order to let them keep company with Japanese normally.  It is also highly likely that the Ainu may have been one of the first to settle North America: The theory is mainly based on skeletal and cultural similarities among tribes living in the western part of North America and some parts of Latin America.  We should admit the series of the same cruel things historically happened both to the Ainu people and to the "Native American."
  

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2. Mizusawa Hitaka Hibuse Matsuri

  "Mizusawa Hitaka Hibuse Matsuri" (Mizusawa Hitaka Fire Prevention Festival) annually held between April 28-29 with of the two "Yakudoshi-ren" [the calamity age (Twenty-Five and Forty-Two) associations] and "Matoifuri-Hozon-kai" (the Society for the Preservation of the Traditional Fireman's clothes) in Mizusawa, Oshu City, Iwate.
  This two-day fireproof festival started more than 300 years ago in the middle of the Edo Period (1603-1868).  After witnessing a disastrous fire (4th year of Meireki or 1st year of Manji) in Edo in 1657 (known as "Furisode-kaji"[the Long Sleeved Kimono Fire]) which destroyed more than 100,000 lives and more than 60 % of Edo (now Tokyo), Munekage Date, the seventeenth lord of the Mizusawa clan offered prayers at Hitaka-Myoken-sha Shrine [associated with "hi" (fire) by its sound] and Mizuyama-jinjya Shrine [associated with "mizu" (water) by its sound] in the precincts of Hitaka-jinjya Shrine for protection from fires.  Later in the reign of Murakage, after the big fire of Mizusawa in 1735 (20th year of Kyoho), Sagohei Sasaki was sent to Edo to study how to organize a fire brigade and on his return home he organized a first modern non-official fire brigade in Mizusawa.  They have been holding an annual memorial event which is now considered to be the origin of the festival.
  
  The festival starts on April 28: 15:30-21:00 (Festival Eve)
  The main event starts on April 29: 8:30-21:00 (Festival Day)
  
  On Festival Day, after the prayers and the fire-fighters' dedicatory performance at Hitaka-jinjya Shrine in the morning (10:40 a.m.), the procession starts at 1:15 p.m. from the municipal office.  It is formed of the modern fire brigade, the fire-fighters in traditional costumes, the original six "Cho-jirushi" ("town sign" carts)*, the original six "Uchi-bayashis"(drum floats) and the nine "hayashi yatais" (musical accompaniment floats) organized by each town block company: 1. Yoko-machi-gumi [the Yoko-machi Company] (melody: "Issei-kuzushi"); 2. Fukuro-machi-gumi [the Fukuro-machi Company] (melody: "Issei"); 3. Ekimae-Sancho-gumi [the cooperative company of the three Ekimae blocks] (melody: "Issei"); 4. Kawaguchi-machi-gumi [the Kawaguchi-machi Company] (melody: Tsurube-i"); 5. Yanagi-machi-gumi [the Yanagimachi Company] (melody: "Ken-bayashi-kuzushi"); 6. Jonai-gumi [the Company within the Walls of the Castle] (melody: "Kanran"); 7. Tachi-machi-gumi [the Tachi-machi Company] (melody: "Matsu-no-Midori"); 8. Kichi-koji-gumi [the Kichi-koji Company] (melody: "Gion-bayashi"); 9. O-machi-gumi [the O-machi Company] (melody "Gion-bayashi").  The "hayashi-yatai" normally consists of "Shamisen" (three-string sitar: 5 young women and their master), "Ko-daiko" (small drums: 15-20 "doll" girls), "Yokobue" (flutes: two men): 23-28 plus dozens of each townsmen and other attendants for each "yatai" (floats). The nocturnal parade is the highlight of the two-day Hitaka Hibuse Festival.  Brightly lit floats carrying girls dressed up like traditional Japanese dolls emerge from the darkness in the city center as the sounds of chanting, flutes, drums and shamisen echo through in the city.  Friday was marked by a procession of colorful floats through the city center, with groups of young female musicians and some male performers riding "hayashi yatai" (musical accompaniment floats) led by many townsmen.
  
  The six "Cho-jirushis" (town signs)--The lord of Mizusawa ordered the original six town blocks to organize each fire brigade using the sign "仁心火防定鎮" (Jin Shin Ka Bo Jo Chin) which means "Fire prevention can be always possible with people's virtue."  Thus each "cho-jirushi" bears one of the six Chinese letters: The letter "仁" (Jin: virtue) is used by Kawaguchi-machi-gumi, "心" (Shin: heart) by Tachi-machi-gumi, "火" (Hi: fire) by "Yanagi-machi-gumi," "防" (Bo: to prevent) by O-machi-gumi, "定" (Jo: always) by Yoko-machi-gumi" and "鎮" (Chin: to suppress, put down, etc) by Fukuro-machi-gumi.


  For further information of Mizusawa, Mizusawa Hitaka Fire Prevention Festival and Dr. Clark,
    1. go to the "Mizusawa" page.
    2. go to the "Sapporo" (The Tsuchinotomi Society Tour) page.
  

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3. The Tsuchinotomi Society (己巳会)
  
The Tsuchinotomi Society performs in Naganuma on September 10, 2006!

  We, 25 members of the Tsuchinotomi Society* (己巳会) or the "Heisei-18-nendo Mizusawa-42-sai Yaku-doshi-ren " (平成18年度水沢42歳厄年連; the Mizusawa Association of the Climacteric Forty-Two 2006) came and performed the original dance "Hibiki" (響; The Sound) twice in the main street of Naganuma Town that evening.
  "Yaku-doshi" (厄年) are the years of calamity.  This is a Japanese belief that people at the ages of "yaku-doshi" are likely to experience misfortunes or illness.  It is generally believed that men's "yaku-doshi" are the ages 25, 42 and 61, and for women 19, 33, though there are local and historical variations.  One's "yaku-doshi" is measured by adding one to the actual age.  In the case of the Tsuchinotomi Society, it covers all graduates of the three junior high schools in Mizusawa (Mizusawa, Higashi Mizusawa and Minami Mizusawa) who were born between April 2, 1965 and April 1, 1966 according to the Japanese academic calendar beginning in April and ending in March.  In addition, the society welcomes anyone who were born the above period, either currently live or work in Mizusawa.
  The ages of 42 for men and 33 for women are considered to be particularly bad years, "hon-yaku" (本厄; great calamity).  This is probably because the numbers 42 and 33 are phonetically unlucky numbers.  42 can be pronounced "shi-ni" which is homophonous with the word "to death," and 33, when pronounced as "sanzan" (さんざん) means "terrible," or "disastrous."  When reaching "yaku-doshi," many people go to Shinto shrines for "yaku-barai" (厄払い; exorcism).  Although this is just a superstition, it may not be improbable because people seem to go through hard times with their health or jobs around these ages.  It is very unusual for other parts of Japan to perform such dance in public, however, it is customary both for men and women to do so on such occasions wearing the same dance costume at the Climacteric Forty-Two and also at the year of Twenty-Five in Oshu City.
  If you are familiar with the Chinese-origin sexagenary cycle (十干十二支), you normally guess "Tsuchinotimi" (己巳) indicates the year when the majority of us were born, 1965.  However, it is not true.  1965 is the year of "Kinotomi" (乙巳).  The closest year of "Tsuchinotomi" is 1989, the first year of the Heisei era (平成元年) when we were in the first "yaku-doshi," 25.  As a public relations officer Kazuma Sato remembers, the society was named "Tsuchinotomi-kai" by Hitaka-jinjya Shrine (日高神社) on the occasion of the first "yaku-doshi" in 1989, the year of "Tsuchinotomi."  My 11-year-old nephew thinks that somebody in drink misread the letter Kinotomi (乙巳) with Tsuchinotomi (己巳) because the two zodiac years have very similar or mistakable Chinese characters.  It was too late when others found that it was a misreading after the public announcement, as he guesses.  I presume it is highly likely.  But I do not think we should change the official name, because this episode is very suitable for us!  This confusion is also a funny part of our "Yaku-doshi."
  The Tsuchinotomi Society was officially organized at the general meeting dated January 3, 2005 at Mizusawa Plaza Hotel, Oshu City in order to tide over the critical year by joining hands to perform our original dance in the major streets of Mizusawa on the Mizusawa Hitaka Fire Prevention Festival between April 28-29, 2006 and many other occasions.  In fact, it took more than 18 months for the preparation.  We are sure that it was a great success.  We will continue to perform "Hibiki" in public on some occasions like "Etowa-matsuri" (Festival of the Unity of the Zodiac Signs) in August in Mizusawa.
  The president of the Tsuchinotomi Society is Kenji Takahashi (Higashi Mizusawa Junior High School), the three vice presidents are Tomoaki Onodera (Mizusawa JHS), Shoichi Sugawara (Higashi Mizusawa JHS) and Mutsuo Yoshida (Mizusawa Minami JHS).  However, the "real" president was said to be Shoichi Sugawara according to Kenji Takahashi.  Sugawara is the chairperson of the Executive Committee of Festivals.  Also, it was Sugawara who organized and arranged everything about this joyful (and a little ashamed) middle-aged excursion to Hokkaido in early September 2006.  Thanks to him all the participants heartily enjoyed the trip.  Here I write my sincere gratitude for Shoichi Sugawara, Kenji Takahashi, other 22 participants, JTB Mizusawa, Donan Bus Co., Ltd. and people in Naganuma Town who gave us warm welcome.  Finally, it was the first time for a Mizusawa "yaku-doshi" society to perform in Naganuma Town.  Hopefully the future "yaku-doshi" societies will be able to perform here again.

IMAGE	IMAGE NO.	DATA
Posters
	hng2006-001	(Sunday 10 September) Poster advertising Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma on the road to Kuriyama Town (道々恵栗線).
	hng2006-002	(Sunday 10 September) Poster advertising Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma at JA Naganuma
	hng2006-003	(Sunday 10 September) Poster advertising Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma near Town Office
	hng2006-011	(Sunday 10 September) Poster advertising Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in "Chomin-kaikan"
Town Center
	hng2006-004	(Sunday 10 September) Naganuma Town Office
	hng2006-006	(Sunday 10 September) A view in front of Chuo-koen (Central Park) along R337
	hng2006-007	(Sunday 10 September) A view in front of Naganuma Shinyo-kinko (Naganuma Credit Union) along R337
	hng2006-008	(Sunday 10 September) "Chomin-kaikan" (Townspeople's Assembly Hall)
	hng2006-012	(Sunday 10 September) Our piper in practice at the entrance of "Chomin-kaian": The signpost indicates the grand reception for Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma at "Chomin-kaikan" tonight.
First Session		All photos were taken by Keijun Chiba, a member of the Tsuchinotomi Society and also a staff of the Yokomachi group of the Mizusawa Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma.
	hng2006-014	(Sunday 10 September) Just before the first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-015	(Sunday 10 September) Just before the first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-017	(Sunday 10 September) Just before the first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-018	(Sunday 10 September) Just before the first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-020	(Sunday 10 September) The "real" president Shoichi Sugawara's microphone performance (introduction) in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-021	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337).  Photo by Keijun Chiba, a member off duty (but in duty for the Yoko-machi group's performance).
	hng2006-023	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-024	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-025	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-026	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-027	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-029	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-030	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-031	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-032	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-034	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-036	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-037	(Sunday 10 September) The first session of "Hibiki" in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-039	(Sunday 10 September) After the first session (in-transit for the second session) in the main street (R337)
Second Session		Unfortunately it began to rain.
	hng2006-040	(Sunday 10 September) A short break in the main street (R337) during the expected shower
	hng2006-041	(Sunday 10 September) A drum performance by the local children
	hng2006-042	(Sunday 10 September) A souvenir photograph in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-043	(Sunday 10 September) Just before the second session: unfortunately Keijun Chiba, the unofficial cameraman, was busy for the Yoko-machi group!
	hng2006-044	(Sunday 10 September) Just before the second session (in-transit): unfortunately Keijun Chiba, the unofficial cameraman, was busy for the Yoko-machi group!
	hng2006-046	(Sunday 10 September) A souvenir photograph in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-048	(Sunday 10 September) The Omachi group's festival car (R337): Staff were busy as the rain began to pour down after our performance.
	hng2006-049	(Sunday 10 September) A souvenir photograph in the main street (R337) with Mrs. Yoshiko Sugawara, who was a math teacher of Mizusawa Junior High in our time and is now the superintendent of Board of Education Mizusawa.
	hng2006-050	(Sunday 10 September) A souvenir photograph in the main street (R337) with Mrs. Yoshiko Sugawara, who was a math teacher of Mizusawa Junior High in our time and is now the superintendent of Board of Education Mizusawa.
	hng2006-051	(Sunday 10 September) Stalls in Higashi-2-chome
	hng2006-052	(Sunday 10 September) A seafood stall in Higashi-2-chome: The smell was really good!  ...No time for eating though.
Mizusawa Hibuse Matsuri in Naganuma		Mizusawa [Hitaka] Hibuse Matsuri (Mizusawa Hitaka Fire Prevention Festival).  Two festival cars of Yoko-machi and O-machi came to perform here in Naganuma Town for the first time.  It was a historical event for the relationship between the two municipalities.
	hng2006-054	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-056	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-057	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-058	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-059	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-060	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-061	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-062	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
	hng2006-063	(Sunday 10 September) Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma in the main street (R337)
PP Banquet		The Post-performance Banquet was held at Naganuma branch of Murasaki (村さ来) through the courtesy of the chief of Murasaki.
	hng2006-065	(Sunday 10 September) Post-performance banquet at Murasaki along R337.  We thank people in Naganuma for their kind intentions of offering free delicious food and drinks!
	hng2006-066	(Sunday 10 September) Post-performance banquet at Murasaki along R337
	hng2006-067	(Sunday 10 September) Post-performance banquet at Murasaki along R337
	hng2006-068	(Sunday 10 September) Post-performance banquet at Murasaki along R337
	hng2006-069	(Sunday 10 September) Post-performance banquet at Murasaki along R337
	hng2006-070	(Sunday 10 September) It was "Kumacho" (famous puppet maker)'s teardrops of gratitude that made us start the fire (see below).  At Murasaki.
Third Session		In my personal opinion it was the best performance so far.  It was "Kumacho" (famous puppet maker)'s teardrops of gratitude that made us start the fire (see below).  At Murasaki, Naganuma Town.
	hng2006-071	(Sunday 10 September) The third (and private) session starts.  At Murasaki.
	hng2006-072	(Sunday 10 September) The third session continues.  At Murasaki.
	hng2006-073	(Sunday 10 September) The third session continues.  At Murasaki.
	hng2006-074	(Sunday 10 September) The third session continues.  At Murasaki.
	hng2006-075	(Sunday 10 September) The third session continues.  At Murasaki.
	hng2006-076	(Sunday 10 September) The third session continues.  At Murasaki.
	hng2006-077	(Sunday 10 September) The third session continues.  At Murasaki.
	hng2006-078	(Sunday 10 September) The third session finally ends amidst a storm of applause!!!  At Murasaki.
	hng2006-079	(Sunday 10 September) The three hosts of Naganuma Town regreet!
	hng2006-080	(Sunday 10 September) The three hosts of Naganuma Town regreet!
	hng2006-081	(Sunday 10 September) The three hosts of Naganuma Town regreet and give three cheers for us!!!
Grand Reception		Grand reception for Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma was held at "Chomin-kaikan."
	hng2006-082	(Sunday 10 September) Grand reception for Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma at "Chomin-kaikan"
	hng2006-084	(Sunday 10 September) Grand reception for Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma at "Chomin-kaikan"
	hng2006-085	(Sunday 10 September) Grand reception for Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma at "Chomin-kaikan"
	hng2006-086	(Sunday 10 September) Grand reception for Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma at "Chomin-kaikan"
	hng2006-087	(Sunday 10 September) Grand reception for Mizusawa [Hitaka] Fire Prevention Festival in Naganuma at "Chomin-kaikan"

        

Copyright (c) 2006 Eishiro Ito.  All rights reserved.